Troubled jockey Garret Gomez misses Del Mar opener

After missing opener, jockey Garrett Gomez must meet with officials before he can ride

Arcadia  Jockey Garrett Gomez missed all of his mounts at Del Mar on opening day and wont’ ride again until he meets with the state racing stewards, according to steward Tom Ward.

Tony Matos, who is Gomez’ agent, called the stewards Wednesday and said Gomez needed to be excused from his five mounts on opening day. The stewards asked that Gomez call them, but he did not call back, according to Ward. He said they asked Matos if Gomez worked horses in the morning on Wednesday, and Matos said he had not.

Matos nor Gomez could not be reached for comment.

“His agent said (Gomez) said he had an issue,” Ward said. “He’s off his mounts here until he meets with us. That’s the plan.”

Matos said Tuesday that Gomez was involved in a spill at Betfair Hollywood Park and also was unhappy with his performance in the Belmont Stakes, where he finished 12th on Todd Pletcher’s Midnight Taboo in the 14-horse field. Gomez told Matos he needed some time off after the spill. It was reported later that Gomez took time off to mend his marriage.

“Garrett just wanted some time to solve his problems,” Matos said on Tuesday morning. He predicted that his client was going to “come back like a monster” at Del Mar.

Gomez had returned and ridden races at Betfair Hollywood Park last week prior to coming to Del Mar.

Gomez, 41, wrote a book about his addiction to drugs and alcohol and promoted it last summer here. He is 15th in the nation among riders with 61 wins from 294 mounts. His horses have earned $4,475,233.

None of the horses Gomez was booked to ride Wednesday won.

Gomez had a terrific meeting at Del Mar last summer. He won 39 races from 214 mounts and finished third in the jockey standings behind Rafael Bejarano and Joe Talamo. His horses earned $2,478,945 here.